♥ Martika ♥

 Ciao,

 It's April and I have been listening to all kinds of music since I last updated this blog - in fact a lot has happened in my life since I last updated this blog. For one thing, I am 18 now!

 I have also been to France and back twice, once to Paris and once to Montpellier. These cities are both amazing, but are so different. Paris is so busy and vibrant and full of life, and you really feel as though you're in the middle of it all when you're in Paris; the middle of the universe. You're where everything is happening!

 Montpellier has a much more relaxed feel, and is absolutely beautiful with some magnificent architecture and palm trees lining the streets, and as it has three universities it is full of students and the nightlife is... pretty good, to say the least.

 I love both cities for different reasons, and I really couldn't decide which is my favourite. They're both wonderful.

 I'm also very happy because I've had an article of mine published in a national magazine: Your Cat magazine. The article is, surprisingly enough, about my cat. He is called Murphy, and it is lovely that this beautiful, gentle and inspirational creature can now be recognised as the hero he is. He is a survivor, and the best pet I could ever wish for. I love him and I hope the readers of the magazine will too ♥

 Anyway, as I said I have been listening to lots of different music recently, especially Nanci Griffith, Joan Armatrading and Martika. Nanci Griffith and Joan Armatrading are both fantastic artists of whom I have been a fan for a long time, and both will probably have a blog post dedicated to them in the near future. However, Martika, aka Marta Marrero, is someone I have discovered more recently, and whose music I adore, and this blog post will be about her.

 I am listening to her music right now, and singing and dancing along - I literally cannot help it. The beat is so infectious, and the passion in her voice - she clearly loves what she does, and I find that when an artist clearly loves their music, it is easy for me to love it as well.

 When I say I discovered her recently; I was familiar with Toy Soldiers, which was without doubt her biggest hit and is still her best known song, especially since Eminem sampled the chorus in his 2005 song, Like Toy Soldiers (which I remember seeing on Top of the Pops when it came out and thinking that the chorus was the only good bit - obviously I was going to grow up to be a Martika fan!)

 I then heard the original Toy Soldiers at the gym (where I first heard a lot of my favourite songs - they had good musical taste at that gym) and later I found it on YouTube and fell in love. When I found out that the song is supposedly about drug addiction, I liked it even more, because I like it when a singer and/or songwriter chooses to tackle a difficult subject - and in this case, she got a massive number one hit out of it; thus spreading the awareness of a global problem.

 I know I probably say this a lot, but I really think Toy Soldiers is a song like no other: deep, haunting and powerful, it can really send chills down your spine. And it is so beautiful. Her voice is amazing, and you can tell that every word has an emotional significance for her, from the way she sings it. She is amazing ♥ and this song is without doubt a classic.

 The next Martika song I want to tell you about is "Water," which I discovered only the other day - like I said, I had always known Toy Soldiers, but it is more recently that I have started to uncover the rest of Martika's sensational back catalogue. And there is some pretty amazing - and unbelievably underrated stuff in there! Water is just fantastic - and I love how she sings in Spanish as well as in English. The passion in her voice in both languages is just so powerful, and her voice itself is sublime. If Martika had never become a singer, it would have been a huge loss for the music industry.

 I can't believe that, according to Wikipedia anyway, Water was not released as a single in the US, and it only reached number 59 in the UK. It is simply beautiful and should be top 10 at least, in both countries!

 She sings with such genuine love and passion, and the song is brilliant - technically an excellent song, and so full of raw emotion. From many singers, all the water imagery might get a bit tiresome, but from Martika... You could never get sick of it because you can tell that she means every word, and it makes perfect sense. I love her!

 Finally, More Than You Know. An 80s classic! Upbeat, bouncy; a happy tune despite the slightly bittersweet lyrics... You just want to get up and dance. Correction: you just have to get up and dance, and sing along too! As with Toy Soldiers, there is a Spanish version too, and as I love the Spanish language, this is something I am pleased about!

 I love how the official video version of this song is a rather self-indulgent 6 minutes 13 seconds! Luckily there is a shorter version if you don't have 6 minutes to spare. Yet every second of the full version is fantastic, and I recommend listening to it at least once and watching her amazing dancing - I think she moves like a cross between Prince and George Micheal - but better than either of them!

 More Than You Know is up there with the big anthems of the 80s, but sadly I had never heard it until a few months ago. Martika needs more love! She is amazing and so genuinely underrated. She is one of the true stars of the late 80s/early 90s, along with my other musical heroes, Roxette.

 Spread the Martika love! She has so many great songs that you never hear on the radio; find her on YouTube and enjoy the Martika beyond Toy Soldiers (although Toy Soldiers is amazing. But she has so much more wonderful music!)

 Martika is amazing; I am so glad I discovered her fantastic, evergreen music, and I look forward to enjoying her music and her beautiful voice for many years to come ♥

 Liz x

 Songs: Toy Soldiers - Martika - 1989
            Water - Martika - 1990
            More Than You Know - Martika - 1988
            Como Un Juguete (Spanish version of Toy Soldiers) - Martika - 1989
            Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor (Spanish version of More Than You Know) - Martika - 1989

Memories ♥

 Hellooo,

 Have been listening to this...

 ...and reminiscing about good times - hearing this for the first time on the radio while eating in a supermarket café and wondering what it was; looking it up and finding out it was Gloria Estefan and being pleased because I like a lot of her music; then listening to it a great deal on YouTube in the next few weeks, maybe even the next few months.

 This was all in my early days of college, so hearing the song always brings back very strong and distinct memories; for example sitting in the language lab at lunchtimes on Fridays because I'd had a lesson there before lunch, and listening to music calmly and happily for an hour and maybe doing a bit of homework, before going to biology in the afternoon. This is how I would generally end my college week, and it was a pleasant ending, and this song brings it all back very clearly. Thank you, Gloria! ♥

 Also I can't mention those early college days without this song, which for a while I simply could not get out of my head: 

 More good memories! Particularly of bus rides home - the scenery near our college is quite nice and, much as I love college, it was always nice to be going home after a hard day's work for a well-deserved rest : ) And, as I've said, I couldn't get this song out of my head. So thank you Amy Grant too ♥ And I think it's adorable that she wrote the lyrics of this song for her baby daughter.

 That's probably enough reminiscing about college for the time being; I should probably get on with my homework; but I hope maybe you've enjoyed these songs too, and that this blog post has inspired you to consider which songs have a special significance for you. 

 Merci de lire,

 (that means thanks for reading!) 

 Liz x

 Songs: Don't Wanna Lose You - Gloria Estefan - 1989

            Baby Baby - Amy Grant - 1991

My songs of the summer: Part 2

 Hello!

 I said I would update this blog ages ago, and I'm sorry that I haven't, but I've been on a spontaneous holiday.  As you do. More about that later.

 Anyway, I'm ready to finish my, "Songs of the summer," post now, but first I wanted to say something - that it was with huge shock and sadness that I learned of the death of Amy Winehouse last Saturday.

 She was an amazing singer and songwriter, and she died so young - it is such a horrible thing to happen. My thoughts are with her family and friends, and I know without a doubt that because of the wonderful music that she gave to the world, she will never be forgotten.

 I will now continue my blog entry on my songs of the summer.

 After my visits to Oxford and Cambridge, and to Newcastle, I had a couple of weeks at home just relaxing, catching up with some fantastic friends of mine, and commuting to and from Manchester once a week for a project I am part of there.

 During this time, I rediscovered this song, after hearing it on the radio:

 It is even better than I remembered it to be, and I had it in my head for quite a while. I love the chorus, and the beat of the whole song - it is so 80s, and I love 80s music.

 This next song I heard twice in a few days; once was on the radio in a shop; I can't remember when I heard it the other time, but it was probably on the radio somewhere. 

                                       

 Anyway, I remember enjoying this when it first came out, and wanting Rebecca to win the talent competition in the video.

 I still don't know whether it was ever a real contest, or meant to be a spoof of reality TV shows generally. Either way, I think the video is really clever, and is always a pleasure to watch.

 I also love the song - it has a real message of hope. I now think if I was ever feeling unhappy, I would probably listen to this song to cheer me up. It's wonderful.

 Anyway; the spontaneous holiday: I went to the Lake District with my family for a few days. It was a lovely trip; we visited some incredible places, including Honister Pass, which I find to be one of the most magical places in the world.

 At some point someone made some comment; I think it was about mountains, and it reminded me of this: another 80s classic.

 If you don't like it the first time you hear it, then I advise that you listen to it again - I didn't think much of this song the first time round, but when I subsequently listened to it, it became one of my favourite songs of the 80s. Funny how things work out like that sometimes.

 When I got home after a brilliant holiday, I listened to some Deacon Blue songs. 

 I love Deacon Blue - here are some of my favourites:

                                                                                                           

                                           

                                           

   

 I only found out after researching these songs for this blog that Love and Regret, Wages Day and Fergus Sings the Blues are from the same album: When the World Knows Your Name, released in 1989. Maybe I just have a taste for the style and tone of music they were producing at that particular time.

 So... these are the songs I have enjoyed listening to so far this summer.

 I hope you enjoy them too.

 From now on I will try to add to this blog as often as I can.

 Thank you very much for reading my blog.

 Liz x

Songs: The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News (1985)

           Something Beautiful - Robbie Williams (2003)

           St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr (1985)

           Love and Regret - Deacon Blue (1989)

           Dignity - Deacon Blue (1987)

           Wages Day - Deacon Blue (1989)

           Fergus Sings the Blues - Deacon Blue (1989)

I am in love with this song

I discovered this via Strictly Come Dancing, and now I love it! Truly beautiful lyrics and music, and two amazing voices which suit each other gorgeously. I love this song! I can't get it out of my head! Just wonderful.

Song: I Don't Know Much - Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville